JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Bloody Star
by HellMan1721
Summary: "Brothers - two stars that run across..." This is the story and fate of brothers, separated by their blood, but joined through destiny. One basks in the light, the other dwells in the dark, but both live in the shadow, the shadow of the star-shaped birthmark, that drove whom carried it into an early grave. What does it take to steer a shooting star off of its inevitable death?
1. Prologue

Oh, how he loathed sailing.

He could attribute this to his lack of experience on the water, but this was the first time that his patrons, the Joestars, had ever wanted him to even leave the country. He was coming to realize that the Atlantic Ocean wasn't kind to those who traversed it. When Lady Joestar first approached him, she seemed overly covert, giving vague details, or rather none for this mission. There wasn't anything illegal here, of course. Who would ever think ill of an aunt who wants to see her nephew? Certainly not he.

A horn sounded off in the distance, signaling the ship's arrival. Jerking away from his thoughts, the man left his cabin to look at the approaching city. As he leaned on the rails, he could make out the swarms of light sailboats in both the sea and the harbour. Above them loomed the gigantic cranes that he could only imagine were used to unload huge cargo vessels. And the vessels themselves, even though they looked no bigger than a toy from that distance, must have been at least twice the size of the ship he was currently on. Wiping sweat from his wrinkled brow, he sighed with wonder.

Although he was under the Joestar's employ, he really only did off-hand errands, which were given to him via the family's servants, or by someone else. And naturally, the routine dulled him. He had learned to never take interest in the family's business, or try to understand the errands he ran. The job that many craved and other deemed bizarre, for him was just that - a job. The only thing of interest for him was to provide for his family, and provide he did. No matter the subject of gossip that surrounded the prominent family, they payed for the service handsomely.

Turning to go back into his cabin to get his suitcase ready, he began to reminisce about the last frantic week in the States. No matter how wealthy the Joestars were, they always seemed to be followed by a particular darkness. They'd been around long enough, now, for any issues to be dealt with swiftly. Even when Lady Joestar's brothers died, she mourned at their funerals, but seemed unaffected otherwise. However, this task was out of the ordinary. Even he felt that something was very wrong in House Joestar, and that unnerved him more than anything. If it weren't for the number of zeroes on his paycheque and a paid vacation afterwards, he doubted that he would have even accepted the offer. But what baffled him more than anything else, is how interesting it seemed to him. Not the sailing, nor travelling to a different country, but this single piece of paper clipped with a polaroid photo, all stored in a neat paper folder, like in his favourite action movies from the 80's. Opening the folder for the first time, he looked upon the photo that showed a portrait of a young boy, presumably at the age of 17 with chestnut hair, that was cut rather short. Even in the photo, the boy's eyes shimmered like sapphires. Among the sea of words, written in bold was 'Jovanni Joestar'.

✪

The city of Kiel, Germany has long been known for its brisk, bitter winds and proximity to the Baltic Sea. Despite these unpleasant conditions, the city has managed to attract a sizeable population of a little over 200,000. It is also rather lively, and one can find many shops throughout its streets. The people of the city admire the water to the point where they have built the Maritime Museum to display different kinds of seafaring vehicles. Additionally, there is a rich cultural influence on the city. St. Nikolai Church, originally built in 1242, is the oldest building in the city, and hosts musical concerts.

Amongst other sights, one that stood out was the University of Kiel, which was founded in 1665 and since then continues to be one of the leading universities not only in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, but in all of Germany. Although it has released many renowned scientists throughout the years, the one thing that went unnoticed and unknown in the spring of 2006 would be the start of the most Bizarre Adventure that the world has ever seen since the Steel Ball Run in 1890, the outcome of which stirs the fates of many to this day. Before brave youth in Morioh-cho would aim to battle the rock disease, Jovanni Joestar and his friends shall embark on the journey that would change the cursed destiny of the Joestar bloodline forever…  
= = = To be continued... = = =

* * *

 _I'll be the roundabout_  
 _The words will make you out 'n' out_  
 _I spend the day your way_  
 _Call it morning driving through the sound and_  
 _In and out the valley..._


	2. A Star, Shining Bright

Chapter I

"And so, class, I hope you have learned that biology can play an important role in the psychological state of someone's mind-mind — if not, by the time you finish your project, you certainly will."

The syllabus had said nothing about a project.

"I know there are more than a few of you who were wary of taking Psychobiology this semester, as some of you only have a background in one or the other, so I've taken the liberty of pairing each of you with someone from the other major, and I hope that will help you not only to successfully pass the finals, but to make new friends along the way!"

He had already started to quietly put his books away, but he yanked out the document that had been passed around earlier. He had anticipated leaving class early, as most of his professors had just gone through the remaining material in the semester and let them go, but this one had decided to assign them one final project.

And now he wanted them to do a group project? A group project that the professor had assigned groups for already sounded like absolute hell. He didn't have a choice but to wait to see who he would be paired with.

"Jovanni Joestar? JoJo, huh? You'll be working with Alice Wolkig. Alice, please raise your hand so JoJo can find you."

He was too respectful to tell Dr. Frenzel that he did not find the nickname charming. His eyes scanned the room, and looked down the lecture hall to see his partner raising her hand.

This is not how he imagined this semester would end. Jovi had hoped that there won't be anymore annoying tasks that pestered him all the year, that he would actually have time to prepare for his finals. And if anything, getting paired with Ms. Goody Two-shoes over there was pretty high on his list of annoying tasks.

Jovani flipped through his planner, and grunted when he realised the drop date had passed. He was stuck here, now. Sighing, he shut it closed, putting it on the table. Pushing the unkempt long hair on the left side, and the thick and long braids on the other behind his ears, he leaned on his hands, letting his gaze to roam free out of the window, to perhaps join the flocks of birds, or the chilling wind that carried them.

Why does it seem that his family's misfortune is still on keen following him in all the little things? He had hoped that putting himself as further from the Joestars as possible would have solved his crisis. But alas, it seemed that he couldn't outrun trouble, as it reached him even before he set foot in Germany, with a terrible turbulence on his flight. After that experience, even though he was as far as possible from a superstitious person, he could understand why even in the 21st century people weren't too keen on using that seemingly superior means of transport.

After that, the feeling of wonder that the city of Kiel has overwhelmed him with managed to numb any worries he had, for a while, at least. Besides the wonderful European architecture, various museums and theatres that pestered this slice of civilisation, he was enchanted by the lush, green parks that littered the small city, the clear blue sky, that got all the more beautiful come twilight, the specs of stars revealing themselves brightly, but above all, he adored the stillness of the sea, how it calmed him, as if each new wave took away one of his worries into the sea, never to bother him again. He almost regretted that he took the time to learn german before he got here. For all its worth, he spent most of his time enjoying the serene nature, rather than engaging in worthless conversations, that were all too familiar with its veiled insults, hidden meanings and uncovered messages. The only thing that was different from how it was in the America, was the language, that lost its purpose to Jovanni with each student meeting.

Snapping from his daze, he hurried to gather his things and reach the professor to try and shake off the annoyance of having a partner on this project.

As Dr. Frenzel dismissed his class (3 minutes after it was supposed to be over, of course), Jovanni walked down to talk to the man.

"Excuse me, Dr. Frenzel?" The young woman he was paired with had gotten to the professor first. It looked like he was going to be here longer than he thought.

"Ah, yes, Ms. Alice! How are you-and how is your family?"

"They're good! Leo said that Psychobio was one of his favourite classes, so I'm excited to be here! I just wanted to know if I could possibly get the application materials for peer tutoring for your Psychopharmacology class in the next year! I've already had a few students ask me for materials and I'm afraid I've left my textbook somewhere on campus!"

"Oh, yes, of course-" The professor dug through his desk, that was littered with books and notebooks, and handed the girl the lecture notes from what Jovanni could only assume were from the class they had mentioned earlier.

"It seems that your partner is here, too, Alice!"

"Professor, I was going to ask to do the project alone."

"Don't be ridiculous, JoJo! Ms. Alice is a wonderful asset to this class, she's auditing it since she's already taken Psychopharmacology! She will be an excellent partner-I am her advisor, after all."

The two of them laughed, and Jovanni repressed a sigh, but started to leave, accepting his fate.

"Wait! JoJo!" The girl grabbed her things and ran towards him.

"Don't you want to exchange phone numbers? Or emails? I don't live on campus so it's not as easy to arrange meetings!"

Ugh. He appreciated her initiative, but he was tired, and wanted to get back to his apartment so he could finish tidying up.

"I have a new phone and new email, so I'll have to get them to you during class next time." He lied.

Alice shook her head a bit, getting that mess of red hair out of her face. Not one for fashion, Jovanni was taken aback by the way it glimmered in the dull light of the lecture hall. He blinked, and realised the flash of light he saw must have been from her dragonfly-shaped earrings.

"My brother gave me these as a gift when I was mentioned in a published paper." She said, catching his gaze. She adjusted the earrings, and grinned. "They really catch the light well! He said that everyone should look at me more often, and that these were a perfect way to have them do it! They really are wonderful!"

She turned her head a few more times, illustrating the earrings did indeed shine brightly when the lights hit them.

This girl really didn't know how to get the hint, and he didn't really care much about her earrings, but if gave her an answer, maybe she'd finally shut up.

"...If we hurry, we can catch the next bus to the apartments." He relented, picking up the pace.

Alice made a pleased noise, and happily babbled on about how much she adored Dr. Frenzel's classes, which Jovi was all too pleased not to hear because of myriads of students that went on their way through the spacious halls of the university.

Finally managing to squirm through the bodies, Jovi breathed in the cool spring air, the winter crisp still lingered, but the season itself all but vanished, leaving the occasional biting winds as a reminder of its ice cold reign.

But none of it bothered to him. Jovi preferred the cold over summer sweat, which only restricted his choice of clothing to shirts and shorts. But here, he was free to wear his favourite denim jacket whenever he wanted to. Although his left sleeve was torn to the elbow, it still warmed him as the only remainder of his father, who died a little after he was born. Whenever he asked his mother about him, she told him that "he was noble and honourable, his stride reminding that of a lion's amongst sheep". Of course, fancy words were like honey to the child's ears, especially when they were about his father.

Suddenly, an uneasy feeling that etched at the back of his head freed him from his thoughts. Looking around, Jovi couldn't seem to find the source of the dreadful feeling, the courtyard shielding the offender with countless students.

Searching with his eyes for a minute longer, Jovi sighed with exasperation, rubbing the back of his neck . "I really need to calm down..."

"Well, at least that girl lost me…"

"JOJO! HEY JOJO! There you are, big guy!"

Sigh. And the day was only getting started.

* * *

Had he been a less astute man, the gentle, steady rhythm of the bus moving through the city streets would have lulled him to sleep. He stood at attention, holding the pole while observing the area around him. The seats around him were filled with his classmates and others on the way home.

Alice had thankfully fallen asleep almost as soon as they got on the bus. He wondered if she had gotten tired out from just talking. Since he had opted to stand up rather than have her lean on his shoulder, she had curled up in two seats. It seemed like that had been a good decision on his part, since she was drooling. Gross.

His thoughts were interrupted when the bus abruptly came to a halt. He grunted and started to give the bus driver a look before he heard the sound of the door sliding open. Who was rude enough to force the express bus to stop? Jovanni looked up, but saw no one. It wasn't until he lowered his gaze that he noticed a small, skimpily-dressed woman. Was she even aware of how cold it was? She was in his personal space, too. This would have been fine, if she didn't keep getting closer. He released a long suffering sigh.

"Move."

The girl looked at him, incredulously. It was as if she'd never been asked to do something in her life.

"Why should I? Do you even KNOW who I am?"

"I don't care who you are. You can sit up there. Besides, you look like you need to sit in the front. Your legs are so short that it must be taxing to walk so far. "

Her pretty face scrunched up into an ugly sneer. "Yeah, but I'm already here. Besides, wouldn't you make room for a famous model?"

"I was here before you. You're small enough, there's room elsewhere."

"Why should that matter? It's warmer to stay closer to other people!"

"You should have worn more clothes if you wanted to be warm." He retorted, getting rather annoyed with this tiny, entitled creature.

"Oh? So you're looking at me? I know that very sight of me can trigger sinful thoughts… especially in such serious-looking men." She only pressed her body closer.

Smirking at the girl, he leaned in to whisper in her ear, softly grabbing her wrist. "I'd like to see you…"

Surprisingly for the girl, her breath caught up in her throat, gulping from the tension. As she leaned in to lay her hands on the forms of the tall man, she was interrupted by Jovi. "...sitting still."

And as if on cue, she was thrown onto a seat, unable to get up or to tear herself away from it.

"W-What the fuck? What did you do! Do you know how expensive these shorts are?! And how DIRTY the bus is?!"

Refusing to acknowledge the strange girl further, he shook his classmate awake, "Alice, come on, it's our stop."

Ignoring the various inappropriate insults from the girl, he led Alice off of the bus.

"Who was that, JoJo?" The psychology student looked back towards the woman who was trying to squirm out of her seat on the bus.

Throwing a stern look at the girl, he replied grumpily. "No one, and don't call me that."

The student apartments weren't fancy, but they weren't inadequate for his needs, either. In addition to a room for him and his roommate, there was a bathroom with a shower and a small kitchen with a sink.

Alice was still yawning from the short, but apparently tiring bus ride. However, her lazy, tired eyes scanned the apartment curiously.

Jovanni wasn't a talkative person, but as a Joestar, he had been taught how to talk to a lady. The amount of that he had actually retained was a different story, but some small talk would be appropriate.

"You don't live in the dormitories?"

"Nope! I usually commute from home every day. My family usually just sends someone to pick me up when I'm done here. They'd miss me too much if I was living away from home!" Alice sounded surprisingly chipper for someone who always looked so sleepy.

"It must be nice to be close to your family."

He didn't catch the sentiment from leaving his mouth quick enough, but it seemed even someone as chatty as she was knew when not to press the topic. He quickly recollected himself.

"Please, make yourself comfortable. I'll make us some cocoa, and then we can start planning out this project." His lips turned up on the sides, but it was too stiff to be described as a smile.

"Oh! Thank you!" Alice plopped down on the couch before sprawling out across it. She was tall enough that her limbs dangled off of it, but she looked comfortable regardless. She looked like she wanted to talk more, but he needed some quiet time after the drama on the bus.

Jovanni made his way to the sink, plugging his ears with a pair of cheap headphones he'd picked up. Before he even made it to the cabinet where the cocoa powder was kept, he stopped dead in his tracks.

He felt his face turn red as his fists clenched.

The sink was piled high with all kinds of junk-ranging from dishes to utensils to old, mushy food. Jovanni would have never left the sacred appliance in such a disgraceful manner. No. This must be the work of his roommate. The degenerate must have thought he could get away with this simply because he would be away for the holidays by the time Jovanni had returned from classes.

Totally unacceptable.

"Is it really that hard to put a dish in the fucking dishwasher?!" The young man called to no one, slamming his fist on the table. It appeared that Alice had managed to fall asleep in the two minutes it had taken him to walk to the sink and have a reaction. That was fine by him. That just meant he could say whatever was on his mind.

He angrily turned on his flip phone and took a picture of the monstrosity that was currently occupying his sink. "Nothing is even soaking-just too lazy to put it in the damn machine. Doesn't he know how much god damn bacteria grows in dirty dishes?!" Jovanni turned the hot water on. As much as he wanted his roommate to be held responsible for his own mess, he refused to leave dirty dishes in his sink for a week.

Instead, once the plates had been rinsed of some of the clumps of food on them, the young man put on thick, rubber gloves. He picked up the disgusting mess, walked to his roommate's room, put all of the dirty plates in his bed, and closed the door.

There. That could fester for the week he was gone.

He finally put a small pot on to boil water for cocoa when a knock was heard at the door. Oh, good, the pig he lived with had come back to clean his mess. Before he walked to open it, he realised it could be that psycho chick from the bus. Steeling himself for that outcome, he peered through the fish eye, and saw a man. He couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why he was familiar, but Jovanni had definitely seen him around.

So, perhaps against his better judgment, he opened the door.

The man seemed… off, immediately. Before Jovanni could shut the door, the man pushed against it with an unexpected amount of force, which allowed him to stumble in.

The stranger was clutching a letter with one of his hands, and he was trying to latch onto his opponent with the other.

Jovanni dodged the man with ease, and watched him trip towards the wall.

What the fuck?! Had he been trying to grab his dick?!

With more urgency, he grabbed the man by his hair and clocked him in the lower jaw. Thankfully, that knocked him out, and he buckled to the floor.

"Postal Services my ass… The hell's with this guy?" he mumbled to himself.

His eyes were once again drawn to the letter, and he went to go retrieve it before he was interrupted.

"Oh, Jovi~ It's so good to see you again! Though I doubt you're as soft as Lady Wolkig here, I'm sure you'll make an adequate pillow at night!"

Jovanni refrained from any snide comments in return, as he faced the girl from the bus. It seems that his hunch wasn't for nothing. How did this bitch managed to sneak in while he was fighting the other man? And how did she knew his name?

He let her just keep talking, deciding to get a better look at her, this time. If he had to get others involved, her description would be needed.

Like the male perpetrator, she also looked familiar, especially in the position she was in now. She was laying across a rather distressed Alice, who seemed to be too in shock to push her off. The smaller girl's face was buried in the taller one's breasts. Had someone else been in Jovi's place, he'd certainly be mesmerised by the picture, but Jovi was a man of a different stature.

Hastily approaching the couch, he grabbed her by the collar of her shirt before unceremoniously dropping her to the ground.

"Go, I won't repeat myself."

She huffed, and stood up, dusting off her clothes, a sly grin on her face.

"You know, you'd be much cuter if you weren't so stiff! Maybe if I give you a little squeeze, the stick up your ass will loosen a bit!" She turned towards him, and attempted to grab his ass, but he caught her hand.

"Oh? Are you going to pin me to the wall-"

"『Death Magnetic』!"

As Jovanni said that, a tall, menacing figure appeared with the sound of a grinding metal. The figure was a head taller than Jovi himself and twice his size, wearing crimson red samurai armour on top of navy blue kimono. Instead of a head, the creature had an ebony skull with eyes glowing like stars, a silver centurion helm adorning it. Its wrists were encased in pitch black gloves with purple studs on it.

The girl's hand was magnetised to the floor, now, but she still looked entirely too smug for his liking.

"So that's what happened to me on the bus! I have to say that this is the first time I've ever had someone get their stand involved in flirtations! Didn't know you were into such stuff! I suppose it's only fair I show you mine, then!"

Before Jovanni could incapacitate her, the girl had already revealed her stand.

"『Sugar On Me』!"

Compared to his iron samurai, his opponent's stand looked much more luxurious and enigmatic, almost to the point where it looked more like a human girl hiding under a veil more than a stand. He found that he was still processing all of this while she was using her stand.

He cursed as he realised that while he was staring at the other stand, the girl had somehow satisfied the conditions needed for it to work.

"Yeah, I bet you love those grassy fields and clean sinks…"

Suddenly, the smugness was erased from her face.

"What the fuck!? Are you kidding?! That's what you're into?! Domestic, country life?! Do you have a farmgirl fetish?!"

Jovanni narrowed his eyes. Whatever the intended effect her stand was supposed to have was failing. He took the opportunity to press his fingertips into the pressure points on either side of her neck. Her golden eyes blazed furiously into his own cerulean ones, but he refused to give her the satisfaction of breaking eye contact. His own stand easily out-punched whatever hers was, and he quickly had a limp girl in his arms. Once he was sure she was knocked out, he called upon his stand to magnetise her arms and legs in such a way that she wouldn't be able to wave them around once she wakes up.

He turned towards the still in-shock Ally. "I'll be back."

He carried the opponent outside of the apartments to the edge of the parking lot, and a small ways up the street. He laid her on a local park bench. Looking at her small form in the clothes that barely covered anything, he sighed, removing his jacket.

"Can't leave her like this," Jovanni said, as he draped his denim jacket over the girl, that fit her like a blanket.

She almost looked like a sleeping puppy, all curled up in his jacket. Her hair, glossy and clearly well-taken care of, surrounded her body like a pool of black ink. He couldn't get the memory of her wild, untamed eyes out of his mind. Even on the bus, she'd felt almost comfortable despite those sharp, angular features.

Even though she acted in such a provocative way, he could imagine the hungry eyes that followed her wherever she walked. She must have expected him to trust her based on her appearance.

But Jovi was old enough, now, to know that it was not the outside of someone that really mattered in the end.

That all being said, he caught himself watching her for a moment longer. There was something unnerving about her sudden appearance-and the fact that she had a stand only made him more anxious. With that thought in mind, he tore his eyes away from her and hurried back to the apartments.

' _Why did she choose to attack me? Since she knew my name, it wasn't done on a whim, or to repay how I treated her on the bus. And her having a stand only makes it worse. Old Man Joseph once told me that stand users attract each other. I hope my flame won't attract any more moths…_ '

* * *

Stand Master: Haruka Kumagai

Stand Name:「Sugar On Me」

Power - ?

Speed - ?

Range - ?

Durability - ?

Precision - ?

Development Potential - ?

* * *

The letter was gone.

The man was still propped up against the wall.

Shit, had that woman managed to snatch it in the frantic encounter? He really didn't feel like going back outside to find out. Before he could look further, he was reminded of Alice's presence by the sound of her squeaky voice.

"I'm sorry-it's from your family-I was just really curious and I couldn't help opening it-what if someone was in trouble and I needed to call for help-"

"Well? What's in it?" Jovanni crossed his arms and sighed. The Joestars were once again calling for his help, likely for a problem that they could probably solve by themselves. He was too mentally exhausted from the day's events to even care that some classmate had gone through his mail.

Alice seemed surprised that he didn't care she had been snooping.

"Well-It doesn't really state anything specific, just that they want you to return home." She paused, nervously shuffling. "Jovanni, where is your home? You don't live close, right?" The look in her eyes suggested that she was even more confused than usual.

"Great." Jovanni stated, ignoring her question.

That was all he could manage to say. He took a moment to think. Why the hell would his family need him back at a time like this? "Forget it, I'm not going." he muttered to himself.

He lightly pushed his foot against the unconscious man. "Oi. One shitty roommate is enough, I don't need another."

The man stirred, and opened his eyes. He leaned down and immediately grabbed at his own pants, and sighed in relief. "That- That woman, she-"

"She's been taken care of. Why are you here?" He didn't have any more patience for the shenanigans and trouble his family was so well-known for.

After a moment of hesitation, the man spoke. "Mr. Joestar, I'll tell you the truth: I know as much as you, perhaps even less. I won't ask whats on that letter, however, I must know, are you returning home, sir?"

Jovanni Joestar pretended to think about it for a whole half second before answering.

"I'll tell you what, give me one week, if I haven't decided by then, I won't be coming."

Jovanni began to show the man the door.

"Oh, by the way, my name is-"

Jovanni laughed halfway through the man's sentence, taking him off guard. "You have a gift for not reading the room. I don't care who you are, and tell whichever one of my relatives sent you that they could come see me themselves."

The man looked like he wanted to talk more, but he had never disobeyed a Joestar's order. He wasn't about to start to. And so, he left.

This meant only Alice remained. For some unknown reason, she hadn't run off or started screaming for the police. He looked at her, and gestured towards the door.

The girl twisted nervously in front of him, turning to leave before turning around and opening up her mouth.

"Jovanni! Wait!"

He obliged, turning around towards her while gathering a few things while also attempting to help this man along his way.

"I know I barely know you-let alone your family-but I want to help. You just saved my life from that… whatever she was! Besides, I feel obligated to join you, at least for this next week or so. Now that I went through your mail."

She managed to smile, even with her flushed, embarrassed expression.

It was at this point that Jovanni was reminded that she was from a rich family. Surely, that was the only way she'd made it this far in life without getting killed.

But, he wasn't going to fight her on this. It was still dangerous to be alone, especially since she seemed completely defenceless. Money couldn't protect her from stand users. He couldn't, in good conscience, let her leave. Besides, she'd done him a favour by not calling for help.

"I don't know if I'm even going, but you ought to stay here."

He wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked at the time. It was already late, and he still had that project to finish. And he'd be damned if she left him to do it by himself.

While Alice sipped her hot cocoa, he thought about the letter. He went through each month of the year. There were no birthdays at this time, and no one had been stupid enough to settle down with any of his cousins, so he doubted there were any weddings. If his family had been desperate enough to call him for help, then…

Jovanni shook his head, admonishing himself. If he didn't get any other news in the next week, then it couldn't be that important.

He poured his own cup of the admittedly delicious drink, and watched the girl who had apparently chugged her cocoa. He raised an eyebrow.

"Should I even ask why you have clothes with you?"

Alice made a noise while shifting through her backpack. "Well, sometimes I fall asleep at the library and no one bothers to wake me up so I just always have clothes just in case-and!" She stopped to take a breath. "I spill things on my clothes all the time and then my tailor has to come here and fix it so I always keep extra-"

"That's all I need to know, Alice. You can get changed in the bathroom." For someone who was planning to be a therapist, she never seemed to shut her mouth and let someone else speak.

The redhead picked up her pile of clothes and dashed to the bathroom, allowing Jovanni to have peace for a moment.

With different thoughts going through his mind, one still remained, pestering his inner peace.

' _Is this an omen for what's to come? First that strange girl with a stand, now the news of the Joestars needing my help… It's all too strange to be a coincidence… Somebody just might have sent her to if not to deal with me, then to test my ability._ '

Standing up from the couch, Jovanni went to the balcony, for the evening sky to ease his burden of thought.

"Trouble in the paradise…" with that said, the man plugged his ears with his cheap earphones, allowing the soft jazz to numb his mind. The smell of saltwater reminded him of the crashing waves of the Baltic Sea, and it was as if they became one with the soft music in his ear. Coupled with the gentle breeze, he felt completely at ease. His eyes closed, and he allowed himself to be soothed by the moment of peace.

Memories of summers spent on the shores of New Jersey slowly emerged from his memory. Running as fast as he could on the white-hot sand to get to the, rough, salty water with his cousins while their elders watched on. The first time he pierced his foot on a shell. The pleasant smell of cotton candy wafting from the carnival grounds.

His grandfather's hearty laugh.

He took a deep breath as he opened his eyes.

The moon shone down on the stillness of the sea, pawing the milky way right into his eye. As a lone tear threatened to spill, he swiped it away.

"Stay strong, gramps…"

* * *

Scrambling to input a number in her phone, she threw the spare clothes on the cold tiles.

"Damn it, did I forget to change his number again…?"

She tugged her sleeve up, where a number was written across her bicep in permanent marker. "Nope, this is the right one-darn it, I copied it into the phone wrong, moron, remember to put your frickin' contacts in before you put it in the phone..."

She fumbled the phone in her hands, and called the proper number.

"Come on…!"

As the beeps were suddenly silenced, a voice came forth. "Ally, it's a bit late for you, isn't it? Calling past 7 PM isn't like you. It couldn't be that you have something important to tell me, right?"

"You know I wouldn't call you for something stupid, Leo."

= = = To be continued... = = =

* * *

 _I'll be the roundabout_  
 _The words will make you out 'n' out_  
 _I spend the day your way_  
 _Call it morning driving through the sound and_  
 _In and out the valley..._


End file.
